Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

This legislation is part of a package agreed with the trade union movement to strengthen the protections for workers, particularly those on low incomes, through the employment regulation orders and the registered employment agreements. As such, it can be welcomed, particularly at a time when a number of employers have ignored Labour Court recommendations on pay, leading in some instances to industrial disputes. These are particularly frustrating for workers employed in companies claiming inability to pay but which continue to make substantial profits. There are several recent examples of this, including the dispute involving the workers at Boots. Another example pertains to a case that arose in my constituency in recent weeks.

There is even less cause for excuse on the part of Ulster Bank, which is withholding an already agreed payment as part of its attempt to enforce unilateral effective cuts in annual pay and pension entitlements. Given that almost the entire future of the economy and of people's livelihoods has been placed on the likely success of measures to save the banking sector after its self-inflicted disaster, the actions of Ulster Bank are particularly inexcusable. It is important, therefore, particularly in the current climate, that employers not be able to impose wage cuts, often under the threat of closure or mass redundancy, without being subject to legislation put in place regarding the minimum wage and the overall protection of wage rates and conditions.

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